A series of interlocked stories taking the reader back through time and through the recurring lives of two characters on an island called Blessed, somA series of interlocked stories taking the reader back through time and through the recurring lives of two characters on an island called Blessed, somewhere in the far North Sea. Very cool. I was charmed by the idyllic island itself, by the overtones of The Wicker Man, the hare motif, and how the stories illuminated one another. Pleasurable stuff, with a strong creepy vibe but not too much really scary stuff. Should appeal to middlegrade readers as well.

The fun of writing an alternate history, I imagine, is that you can change anything you don't like. let me just say that if Novik were t2012, April 16

The fun of writing an alternate history, I imagine, is that you can change anything you don't like. let me just say that if Novik were the creator of the universe, rather than just a world, things would probably be both cooler and better.

In this installment, our heroes travel to South America, fight, confound and are confounded by the forces of Napoleon, encounter new cultures and consider new ways of doing things. Fun and adventure that never feels brainless. I love these books. Not least because the dragons are obsessed with status, wealth, and who to make eggs with, which is period-appropriate, but so funny. Compares well with Tooth and Claw, which is Trollope with dragons.

This volume has Laurence and Temeraire transported to New South Wales along with a hold full of convicts. We're introduced to Bligh,2011 September 25

This volume has Laurence and Temeraire transported to New South Wales along with a hold full of convicts. We're introduced to Bligh, who has recently lost his post as governor to the colony in an uprising. We get to contemplate colonization and the rights of natives during a cross-country hunt for a stolen dragon egg. Great stuff, with plenty of surprises along the way.

Yeah, she managed to slip penguins in there with the colonialism and the slavery and the dragon plague. It feels quite a bit as if sh2011 September 21

Yeah, she managed to slip penguins in there with the colonialism and the slavery and the dragon plague. It feels quite a bit as if she can read my mind and anticipate everything I might want to see and give it to me. I'd give her a whole extra star just for the 19th century epidemiology alone. And another star for Mrs. Erasmus. It's hard for me to think of another book, let alone a series, which deals so well with very weighty issues and is such insane pleasure to read.

Novik goes from strength to strength. Because Temeraire is naive but intelligent, she has the opportunity to question all the wrongs of Regency BritisNovik goes from strength to strength. Because Temeraire is naive but intelligent, she has the opportunity to question all the wrongs of Regency British society and colonialism, and to defend them according to the beliefs of the time. Maybe there are other writers who can evoke so much about time and place and character from the difficulty of finding suitable evening wear, but most writers overlook such prosaic material, particularly in a series that has war and adventure at its core. Brilliant stuff, deeply layered and truly thoughtful. I want to downgrade everything else, in order to give Novik more stars.

Somewhere in the course of reading this one, I became convinced that the dragons aren't based on humans, but on cats. Maybe that's because I was sick, and covered with sleeping cats, but it still seems plausible to me. There's something different about them.

This may well be Bray's masterpiece. It's funny, it's insightful, it's timely it's got beauty queens and bad guys in black shirts and an ornithologistThis may well be Bray's masterpiece. It's funny, it's insightful, it's timely it's got beauty queens and bad guys in black shirts and an ornithologist and pirates. This is a book that has serious things to say about beauty culture and gender roles and sexual orientation and politics and the othering of minorities and yet it never looses sight of a strong story arc and character development. Like Tery Pratchett, Bray manages to mock the conventions of modern life while being fully sympathetic to the people caught in those conventions. Hilarious and warm, I loved every second of time spend reading it.

Worthless. The book relies on generalizations and stereotypes, clip art and stock photos, and doesn't really offer any facts at all. There isn't a bibWorthless. The book relies on generalizations and stereotypes, clip art and stock photos, and doesn't really offer any facts at all. There isn't a bibliography, and I have zero confidence that the definitions in the glossary are accurate.

Specific concerns: The books breaks up tribes into five groupings: Northwest, Southwest, Plains, Northeast, and Southeast. Those groupings refer almost exclusively to tribes in the current United States, largely ignoring Canada and completely ignoring Mexico, all of Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. How does that even begin to make sense?

It's never clear whether the mythologies are historical or still active.

According to Debbie Reece at American Indians in Children's Literature "shaman" isn't used by tribal people, and, since it's a word from Mongolia, that's not surprising. But here it is defined as a person superior to a medicine man.

Scalzi totally nailed it. I really, really, really want Veronica to get to this soon, and tell me what she thinks. Telling the same stor2012 January 2

Scalzi totally nailed it. I really, really, really want Veronica to get to this soon, and tell me what she thinks. Telling the same story from a different point of view allows him to expand on bits that received less attention in The Last Colony, but it also allowed him to tell more about the regular lives of the colonists, and how they manage to amuse themselves. I loved it, snarky teenaged heroine and all.

I'm not going to try and excuse the casual racism of the book. Fletcher has a very clear worldview as expressed through the character of Richard MoninI'm not going to try and excuse the casual racism of the book. Fletcher has a very clear worldview as expressed through the character of Richard Monington, defender of the King against Cromwell. There's the King, then gentlemen, then yeomen/craftsmen, then white peasants, then black slaves, then Indians. Women and girls have similar gradations, but the expectations are completely different. The good should be rewarded, the bad punished, but no one should be shifted out of their appropriate caste. People of color, whether African or Native American, are completely inscrutable, and magical. this sums it up pretty well, I think:

She became a symbol of the horrible tragedy of white servitude in its most noxious form. There was tragedy in black slavery also, but not the poignant, weary heart-break he saw in the girl, try as she would to conceal it.

"She", is a young woman named Tamar, indentured and persecuted for bearing a still-born baby and not revealing the father.

Okay, so it's racist and sexist and rife with stereotypes. So, you might ask, why did I like it? Why does it get a pass when Gone With the Wind doesn't? They're both prey to the same sentimental view of the past as an idealized system. But Fletcher isn't trying to justify it: she's not moved by the plight of the slaves, certainly not compared to the honest white indentured servants, but she does gives us active rebellion and thoughtful consideration of just how back-breaking the work is.

What's really heart-breaking to me is a pure throw-away bit about a native tribe that's almost disappeared. There are cleared fields in (modern) NC, and no aggressive natives because they've died off. Disease has eliminated more than half the population, possibly as much as 90% in the hundred years since Roanoke Hundred. Just imagine the Cherokee landing in England after the worst wave of the black death. No wonder they felt like God had handed them Eden.

Nearly two decades later, I'm reading it again, along side Natasha who is reading it for class. They were all assigned1995 February 1

***

2013 March 27

Nearly two decades later, I'm reading it again, along side Natasha who is reading it for class. They were all assigned mushers to follow during the Iditarod, as part of the project.

So now my beloved MIL, the Spouse, me, and my fifth grader have all read it. None of us have any desire to do such a thing, but Paulsen has written a gripping narrative of his time training and competing. There's a great deal of humor in the beginning, with a steep learning curve since he decides to train for the race having absolutely no idea what he's doing. And no one, really, to learn from. The race itself is a number of thrilling tales by Jack London told from a modern mindset. He describes beautiful scenery, insane cold, the hazards of mountains and sea ice, the people he meets as volunteers and mushers, and the amazing dogs themselves.

Cromwell's New Model Army attempts to eradicate the Irish in 1649, and young Emer sees atrocities. She's then taken to Connaught with her uncle's famiCromwell's New Model Army attempts to eradicate the Irish in 1649, and young Emer sees atrocities. She's then taken to Connaught with her uncle's family where she slowly starves for years, before being sold off at 14 to a wealthy "husband". She sets sail for the Caribbean and gradually, by degrees over years, becomes a pirate.

And also, at her death, she's cursed with the dust of a hundred dogs to be reincarnated as a dog one hundred times.

And after that she is reincarnated as a human in contemporary Pennsylvania, the youngest of five children, early identified as a genius and the hope of a family sliding into destitution.

It's an odd story, but the pieces fit together beautifully. The memory of what Emer endured, and the violence she perfected, gives the modern Saffron extra reserves to call upon, as well as a clear view of the world. Her brother is an addict who will steal and sell anything to feed his habit. It's no good angsting about it, just hide anything important and carry on.

Good choice for anyone who suffers from stabbiness in the presence of others.

I don't think I've ever read a worse book. It is a failure on every conceivable layer.

First, there's a framing story in which the author,Appalling.

I don't think I've ever read a worse book. It is a failure on every conceivable layer.

First, there's a framing story in which the author, Mimi, is talking to her husband and grandchildren. These are long sections in italics, which many people find difficult to read, so the physical design of the book is bad. But also, the framing story doesn't add anything, giving very little information about The Lost Colony historically, and none about Manteo today. Well, that's not true: it breaks up the continuity and momentum of the mystery, and replaces it with the ersatz excitement of the grandkids being told the story.

Second, I'm guessing that this was chosen for the Battle of the Books for its local interest. It fails horribly on that score, having neither a strong sense of place nor as much information as the average Wikipedia entry.

Third, it is ostensibly a mystery. It says so, right there in the title. That aspect is a story about two boys on the Outer Banks who have several scary incidents happen to them and then the culprits are revealed during a storm. It doesn't actually have anyone trying to solve a mystery, there's no detecting, there's no clues, no misleading red herrings. Well, one of the kids does jump to a hasty and offensive conclusion that turns out to be true, but there isn't any thinking to speak of.

Fourth, speaking of offensive, let me share a little spoiler with you: there are also two boys "of Indian descent". They aren't properly named (although the get referred to as Ghost Boy and Drowned One), nor is their tribal affiliation. Readers could be mistaken for thinking they are actually children of immigrants from India rather than indigenous kids of NC. The phrase "dumb heathens" could refer to anyone, of course, although I suppose the repeated use of "savages" would clear things up. More fail: we're told in the framing store that "it wasn't fair for the Native Americans, because later, they pretty much disappeared, too". WTH? NC has the sixth highest native population the US. I like that passive structure too, which erases hundreds of years of genocide. Of course, the author states "the Indians were treated unfairly, and still are today" which she should know because she, herself is "part Cherokee." Not that any effort is ever made to specify what this unfair treatment consists of.

Fifth, and this is a big one, the writing is horrible. Not just "it isn't my cuppa" stylewise, I mean it's really hard to figure out what the author is trying to say most of the time. The scenes of the mystery shift abruptly, without helpful exposition, but seem to cover incidents over an entire school year. The author never writes a simple sentence, but relies heavily on the thesaurus and usage that makes no sense. Unless "surfboard-red" is a common thing, and I didn't know. No one just said anything, no, "he howled," "he squealed," "he cried," "he gurgled". That's two pages wasted on a scene where the boys are chewing Life Savers in a dark bathroom to see if they spark. I had to read the scene twice to figure out what was going on. It has no relevance to anything else, by the way.

"The sun sprawled through the window upon the numb body hung across the bed." It's trying so hard to be creative that it's incomprehensible. But that's not the scariest part.

Sixth, there are at least 35 other books in this series.

I like that the Battle of the Books selections normally cover a range of styles and topics. I've really enjoyed reading alongside the girls and attending the battle. But this is inexcusable. Even if it's an incredibly popular series (which I doubt), it's so poorly written that I can't imagine recommending it to thousands of kids. You know how Harry Potter is the series that sucks the kids into reading? This is the anti-Harry Potter.

Let me say that the scope is quite broad. Byrne covers several different topics: the intersection of music and culture, how music is steered by technoLet me say that the scope is quite broad. Byrne covers several different topics: the intersection of music and culture, how music is steered by technology and how it in turn steers technology, the purpose of music, modern options for selling and distributing music, and his own creative and technological methods of achieving some of his albums and shows. I wouldn't expect everything here to appeal equally to all readers. The technology and history of music would bore the Spouse silly, but I found it informative and well presented. Likewise, the section on earning a living from music is unlikely to appeal to anyone who isn't contemplating making a living from music. The memoir aspect is very straightforward and earnest and pragmatic and likely won't appeal to anyone looking for spicy revelations or backstage excess.

But for me? Great. I learned a great deal and didn't have to ask the Spouse a lot of mind-numbingly elementary questions. Charmingly, for someone who is such a geek, Byrne never loses the importance of how music makes us feel, and the value of a good beat that we can dance to.

Highly recommended to those who want an intriguing overview of music from a man with amazingly eclectic tastes. It looks good, too, although it was a ton.

When an author focuses on two teenaged street kids as the protagonists for his story, you have to be concerned. Generally, things don't end well. BlinWhen an author focuses on two teenaged street kids as the protagonists for his story, you have to be concerned. Generally, things don't end well. Blink and Caution are smart and canny, although their instincts aren't always very good. So Blink is searching a very nice hotel for breakfast, and he is accidentally witness to a disturbing scene. Just how disturbing he has to work out, watching and reading the news, piecing together clues to find out what happened, and whether there might be something in it for him. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Toronto, Caution has been taken in by a dealer, in more ways than one. The risks and dangers are mounting for both of them, and their lives are about to take an even more perilous turn.

Wynne-Jones does a brilliant job of making the reader really care about these kids. He doesn't try to disguise how hard life on the streets is, and he doesn't pretend that they can get through without getting their hands dirty. The police are never going to be on their side, especially not when Blink starts to uncover a CEO's web of influence. Of course I wanted them to make it, but every minute I was reading this I was aware just how unlikely it was that they could make it out alive. Too many people are out for blood, and a girl with a Little Mermaid backpack is too easy to spot. If this was a movie, it would be directed by Luc Besson.

There are so many levels upon which to enjoy a Pratchett book. There is the everyday functioning of a marriage; the rearing of a child, and the uneasyThere are so many levels upon which to enjoy a Pratchett book. There is the everyday functioning of a marriage; the rearing of a child, and the uneasy balance between encouragement and disgust that sometimes entails, as when young Sam becomes engrossed in the study of poo of many animals. Here we also have the tiniest of crimes and the greatest, although interestingly, the greatest is an individual murder, not genocide of a species. One thing I particularly liked: Vimes never loses track of just how culpable the many players are, most especially not the bystanders who turned away.

Used to be Asimov wrote mysteries. He enjoyed crafting little puzzles set on other worlds that could only be solved by considering condit2011, June 14

Used to be Asimov wrote mysteries. He enjoyed crafting little puzzles set on other worlds that could only be solved by considering conditions on those planets. The first Robot books were all mysteries. Scalzi brings that kind of plotting to his re-imagining of Little Fuzzy. The result is entertaining as hell. Corporate machinations, legal maneuvering, the suppositions and discoveries of scientists, and the fuzzys who are unspeakably cute and clever cats. He's thrown in humor and pathos and the result is so very satisfying.

Now I'm reading the Piper original, because I must have more. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they don't like science fiction.

Tan's work is distinctive and melencholy. "The Red Tree" is sad, but hopeful, about a lonely girl. "The Lost Thing" is found, but where should it liveTan's work is distinctive and melencholy. "The Red Tree" is sad, but hopeful, about a lonely girl. "The Lost Thing" is found, but where should it live? "The Rabbits", written by John Marsden, is a powerful allegory of European settlers in Australia.

Hale has taken a fairy tale I wasn't familiar with, setting it in a sort of medieval Mongol world, and presented it as realistically as possible, despHale has taken a fairy tale I wasn't familiar with, setting it in a sort of medieval Mongol world, and presented it as realistically as possible, despite the fantasy elements. Most enjoyable. It seemed less like one of Hale's other books, and more like Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword, in part because of the sadness and loss at its core.

Harriet is the daughter of the worst professor at Cambridge, a man who doesn't mind teaching her Latin, but won't even consider the possibility of herHarriet is the daughter of the worst professor at Cambridge, a man who doesn't mind teaching her Latin, but won't even consider the possibility of her attending university. Her aunt, Louisa, keeps house for them and is the cheapest person ever, so were Harriet to hack them to pieces with an ax, no one would be surprised. fortunately, Harriet is offered the opportunity to join the corps of a ballet troupe headed up the Amazon for an extended stay among the insanely wealthy rubber barons of 1912.

It's a delightful book. Just as in A Countess Below Stairs, the heroine isn't brilliant at everything, but she is charming and kind. The hero is a good man, which we know because of his efforts to protect a native tribe (or two). Sure he's a colonial making a fortune, but he treats his workers well, and cares about their long-term interests (if not their land rights).

In addition, we are treated to the amusing characters of the ballet company, a buffoon of a suitor for Harriet, an entrancing young boy, a scheming Scarlett O'Hara type, and quite a lot of natural history. Fleas get their due, as does a coati.

The magic of the book is that Ibbotson tells an Edwardian love story in a way that mostly feels authentic and also progressive. Perhaps it's because when the author brings in a deus ex machina she proclaims it as such. Maybe it's because our leads are enjoying everything unabashedly. I don't know, what the magic is, but I bet you anything you like that Ibbotson had FUN writing this book.

The library didn't have The Garden of Iden in, but after a dinner conversation in which the Spouse and I commented on the Company1999January 18, 2015

The library didn't have The Garden of Iden in, but after a dinner conversation in which the Spouse and I commented on the Company premise, I was hankering for a re-read. So, I started with the second book.

Okay, a little backstory: there is time travel, but only to the past and returning, never to the future. The Company controls the technology and is using it to rescue lost artifacts from the past, make canny investments, etc., and for the copious work it is much easier to rescue orphans, cyborg them up to perfect health and immortality, and simply let them live forward, working all the while.

As in Iden, this story features Mendoza (a botanist) and Joseph (a fixer). This mission is to Alta California before the missions arrive, where an entire village of 300 or so people are interviewed, recorded, and finally, transported out, culture and all. Joseph has been fixed up with some clever special effects so that he appears as The Coyote. There is much bawdiness and humor and humanity. Baker never condescends to her made-up tribe, never depicts their speech as pidgin English. When Joseph tries to pass off an earthquake as angry gods, the people are rather taken aback: they figured it was a purely natural phenomena.

I loved it, particularly the respect for a non-European culture. Funny thing though, I don't think it would pass the Bechdel test, since the leaders of the village are all men, and we don't meet many of the women.

This is the story of a spreading human culture colonizing other human planets. There is a bit of mystery, some interesting cultural clashes, plenty ofThis is the story of a spreading human culture colonizing other human planets. There is a bit of mystery, some interesting cultural clashes, plenty of suspense, oppression, assimilation, and very interesting ideas about how to run an empire across vast reaches of space. It has a blurb from Scalzi on the cover, which is recommendation enough for me, and it also won a Hugo. It's the first of a planned trilogy, for those who like their epics sprawling. For those seeking something a bit different, there is a running side plot about the difficulties of properly assessing/addressing gender across cultures and languages and time. And for those who have preferences on the topic, the only important relationships are between clans, hierarchies, and friends; this is not a kissing book.